Equity Securities and Industry Analysis Overview

Introduction to Industry Analysis FINM014 Dr Xun Lei

Chapter 21 Macroeconomic and Industry Analysis Chapter 22 Equity Valuation Models

Types and Characteristics of Equity Securities Common Shares and are the predominant type of equity security. Common shares represent an ownership interest in a company process through voting rights. Common shareholders share participate in the governance income in the form of cash dividends to common shareholders, but they are not contractually obligated to do so. Companies may choose to pay out some or all of their net Preference Shares the payment of dividends and the distribution of the company s net assets upon liquidation. Preference shares rank above common shares with respect to Generally do not have any voting rights.

Return Characteristics of Equity Securities There are two main sources of equity securities total return: price change (or capital gain) and dividend income. Therefore, an equity security s total return is calculated as:

Risk of Equity Securities The risk of any security is based on the uncertainty of its future cash flows. Risk is most often measured by calculating the standard deviationof the equity s expected total return. The type of equity security, as well as its characteristics, affects the uncertainty of its future cash flows and therefore its risk. In general, preference shares are less risky than common shares. With common shares, however, a larger portion of shareholders total return (or all of their total return for non-dividend shares) is based on future price appreciation and future dividends are unknown.

Basics of Industry Analysis Industry analysis is the analysis of a specific branch of manufacturing, service, or trade. Related to following questions: systems? What are the similarities and differences among industry classification How does an analyst go about choosing a peer group of companies? What are the key factors to consider when analyzing an industry? positioned industries? What advantages are enjoyed by companies in strategically well- Uses of Industry Analysis: Understanding a company s business and business environment Identifying active equity investment opportunities Portfolio performance attribution

Approaches to Identifying Similar Companies Industry classification attempts to place companies into groups on the basis of commonalities. Major approaches to industry classification: Products and/or services supplied Business-cycle sensitivities Statistical similarities

Approach 1: Products and/or services supplied Modern classification schemes are most commonly based on grouping companies by similar products and/or services. products and/or services. For example, some of the large players in the global automobile industry are Toyota, General Motors, Volkswagen, Ford, Honda, Nissan, PSA Peugeot Citro n, etc. An industry is defined as a group of companies offering similar For example, the health care sector include the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, medical supply, hospital, and managed care industries. The term sector is often used to refer to a group of related industries. on the basis of a determination of its principal business activity. These classification schemes typically place a company in an industry Industry Classification Standard (GICS), Russell Global Sectors (RGS), and Industry Classification Benchmark. Many classification systems based on this approach, like the Global

Approach 2: Business-Cycle Sensitivities Companies are sometimes grouped on the basis of their relative sensitivity to the business cycle. This method often results in two broad groupings of companies cyclical and non-cyclical. the strength of the overall economy. Examples of cyclical industries are autos, housing, basic materials, industrials, and technology. A cyclical company is one whose profits are strongly correlated with independent of the business cycle. Examples of non-cyclical industries are food and beverage, household and personal care products, health care, and utilities. A non-cyclical company is one whose performance is largely

Approach 3: Statistical Similarities Statistical approaches to grouping companies are typically based on the correlations of past securities returns. For example, companies can be separated (on the basis of historical correlations of stock returns) into groups in which correlations are relatively high but between which correlations are relatively low. This method of aggregation often results in non-intuitive groups of companies, and the composition of the groups may vary significantly by time period and region of the world. Moreover, statistical approaches rely on historical data, but analysts have no guarantee that past correlation values will continue in the future.

Industry Classification Systems Major index providers, including Standard & Poor s, MSCI Barra, Russell Investments, Dow Jones, and FTSE, classify companies in their equity indices into industry groupings. For example: by Standard & Poor s and MSCI Barra in 1999. Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) was jointly developed structure to classify companies globally on the basis of the products or services a company produces. The Russell Global Sectors (RGS) classification system uses a three-tier developed by Dow Jones and FTSE, uses a four-tier structure to categorize companies globally on the basis of the source from which a company derives the majority of its revenue. The Industry Classification Benchmark (ICB), which was jointly Other governmental industry classification systems

Constructing a Peer Group A peer group is a group of companies engaged in similar business activities whose economics and valuation are influenced by closely related factors. Steps in constructing a preliminary list of peer companies: provide a useful starting point for identifying companies operating in the same industry. Examine commercial classification systems. These systems often competitive environment. Companies frequently cite specific competitors. Review the subject company s annual report for a discussion of the comparable companies. Review competitors annual reports to identify other potential Review industry trade publications to identify comparable companies. its revenue and operating profit from a business activity similar to the primary business of the subject company. Confirm that each comparable company derives a significant portion of

A Framework for Industry Analysis

Principles of Industry Analysis Barriers to Entry competitor to challenge incumbents? Relatively high (low) barriers to entry imply that the threat of new entrants is relatively low (high). What are the barriers to entry? Is it difficult or easy for a new Industry Concentration control a relatively large share of the market, or does the industry have many players, each with a small market share? How concentrated is the industry? Do a small number of companies Industry Capacity much of the goods or services can be delivered in a given time frame? Does the industry suffer chronic over- or under-capacity, or do supply and demand tend to come into balance reasonably quickly in the industry? What are capacity levels? That is, based on existing investment, how

Principles of Industry Analysis (contd) Market Share Stability lose share, or is the industry stable? How stable are market shares? Do companies tend to rapidly gain or Industry Life Cycle prospects, or is demand stagnant/declining? (More details in next slide) Where is the industry in its life cycle? Does it have meaningful growth Price Competition How important is price to the customer s purchase decision?

Industry Life-Cycle Model

Porters Five Forces Porter (2008) identified the following five determinants of the intensity of competition in an industry: entry, or how difficult it would be for new competitors to enter the industry. The threat of entry to the industry, which depends on barriers to the supply of key inputs to a company. The power of suppliers, which may be able to raise prices or restrict exerting influence on suppliers regarding prices. The power of buyers, which can affect the intensity of competition by customers choose other ways of satisfying their needs. The threat of substitutes, which can negatively affect demand if industry s competitive structure. The rivalry among existing competitors, which is a function of the

External Influences on Industry Growth, Profitability, and Risk Macroeconomic Influences Technological Influences Demographic Influences Governmental Influences Social Influences

Summary The three main approaches to classifying companies are: products and/or services supplied; business-cycle sensitivities; and statistical similarities. A limitation of current classification systems is that the narrowest classification unit assigned to a company generally cannot be assumed to constitute its peer group for the purposes of detailed fundamental comparisons or valuation. A peer group is a group of companies engaged in similar business activities whose economics and valuation are influenced by closely related factors. Not all industries are created equal. Some are highly competitive, with many companies struggling to earn returns in excess of their cost of capital, and other industries have attractive characteristics that enable a majority of industry participants to generate healthy profits.

Summary Differing competitive environments are determined by the structural attributes of the industry. For this important reason, industry analysis is a vital complement to company analysis. The analyst needs to understand the context in which a company operates to fully understand the opportunities and threats that a company faces. The framework for strategic analysis known as Porter s five forces can provide a useful starting point.